Contract Awarded For Constructing American Parkway

A $2,370,557 contract has been awarded for construction of the section of American Parkway Northeast between Gordon and Front streets, Allentown.

Neal E. Kern, city manager of engineering, announced yesterday the contract will go to J.H. Beers Inc., Wind Gap, at a price $118,000 lower than it bid in May.

Since May, Kern said, changes were made to bring down the cost of the project. They included lowering the level of the roadway from Gordon to Tilghman Street, reducing the rock slopes on the sides, and reducing the amount of fill needed.

The estimated cost of the project was $2.2 million at the start of this year. When bids were opened in February the lowest offer was $2.55 million, or $350,000 above the estimate. As a result, city officials decided to redesign and rebid the project.

Beers, the apparent low bidder at the first round in February, submitted the only bid in May. It still was $200,000 above the city's estimate.

Kern said the construction work will begin in about two or three weeks, but not be completed until October 1986 because it will be undertaken in two stages.

This year the contractor will relocate 800 feet of the Jordan Creek north of Tilghman Street, will relocate the entrance road to Lehigh Structural Steel Co. near Front and Bridge streets, and will install the retaining walls, the fill, rock slopes and storm drainage. It also will install traffic signals at Hamilton Street and the parkway.

Next year, the concrete paving, curbs, guardrails, landscaping and the installation of traffic signals at Linden and Gordon streets will be completed.

Kern said the city is coordinating its timetable to avoid conflict with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's replacement of the Tilghman Street Bridge over Jordan Creek.

He said PennDOT will seek bids Oct. 31 with an aim of starting the bridge reconstruction next March.

With proper coordination, he said, PennDOT can have the east abutment in place when the city's contractor is ready to proceed in that area.